


Magical Healing

by nazangel



Series: Whumptober 2020 [15]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Gen, Hurt Jason Todd, Hurt/Comfort, Multiple Jason Todds, Other, Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:40:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27227485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nazangel/pseuds/nazangel
Summary: Jason Todd gets a soul-sucking curse cast on him. Zatanna summons some help. Some very interesting help.
Relationships: Batfamily Members & Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd & Damian Wayne
Series: Whumptober 2020 [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1950730
Comments: 2
Kudos: 84
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Magical Healing

**Author's Note:**

> So, this became much longer then I had expected which is why it is now being split into three parts.

Jason woke up feeling foggy and slow. His body felt like it had been covered in concrete and he was having a hard time moving his limbs. A quick glance to his side showed both Damian and Dick sitting at his side. Damian noticed him awake first and instantly called out for Bruce, much to Jason's chagrin.

"Father, Todd's awake," he said, "He seems to be having difficultly focusing though,"

"Shut up, brat," muttered Jason, trying to sit up

"Yeah, I wouldn't do that yet," said Dick, making him lie back down

"What? Get off of-"

"Jason," warned Bruce, coming to stand on his other side, "Stop it. How much do you remember?"

"I don't-"

"The fight," said Bruce, "Can you remember?"

The fight. Right.

They had been following some amateur bad guy hell-bent on making his name. He had been a normal human without the resources of most of the big rogues so they hadn't been expecting any surprise.

Turned out he had had a possessed demonic sorcerer on his side.

After that, the fight was a bit unclear in Jason's head but he did remember getting hit with something.

"I got hit," he said looking up at Bruce, "Is that why I feel so shitty?"

Bruce pursed his lips and shard quick glance with Dick.

"What?" asked Jason, trying not to panic too much, "What's going on?"

"We're going to show you something and please try to stay calm,"

That really didn't help Jason's rising panic. What could it be that was making Bruce of all people seem so out of his element.

"Here goes," murmured Dick and slowly lifted his shirt. Jason sat up to get a good look at whatever they were trying to show him and nearly had a premature heart attack.

Right in the middle of his gut was a black hole. A literal black hole.

"What the fuck?" he shouted on instinct, trying to move upwards as if moving could get him away from the physical thing on him.

Bruce held him down though, "Don't. We have no idea what this is so please stay as still as possible. We contacted every magic-user and Zatanna seemed to recognize what it was so we're going to wait on her, okay?"

Jason took a deep breath, "Okay?"

"You said you felt bad," said Bruce, "What did you mean?"

"Just feel kinda tired and weak, headache too,"

"Anything that might need immediate attention?" based Bruce

"Nah, I'm good," said Jason, "Let's just wait for Zatanna,"

"Okay," said Bruce, "I'm going to inform the rest of the family,"

Dick gently squeezed his shoulder as Bruce walked toward the computer. For once, Jason didn't throw him off.

xxx

Zatanna showed up only twenty minutes after Jason had woken up. Her swiftness both relieved Bruce and made him more worried. Zatanna would never drop everything so quickly unless she thought something was really wrong.

The feeling amplified when Zatanna took one look at the black hole and stepped back.

"This isn't good," she said.

"No kidding," muttered Jason, valiantly trying to hide the fear in his voice, "Is there any way to fix it? And what is it even doing?"

Zatanna took a deep breath, "It's sucking out your life force,"

Bruce felt his stomach drop to the ground.

"What?" asked Jason, voice barely over a horrified whisper

Zatanna nodded, "Yes, that's what I believe it's doing but I've also never encountered one before,"

"What happens when it's done with Todd?" asked Damian

Bruce flinched at tat but then reprimanded himself. The questions needed to be asked.

"I don't know," said Zatanna, "I need to do more research, make a few more calls,"

"And if you don't get it off in time, I die. Again," said Jason

Bruce could tell his son was trying to sound a little less affected than he actually was. Jason's gaze swept the cave and when it landed on him, he moved without any hesitation. Standing close to the bed, he rested a hand on Jason's arm. When the boy didn't pull away, Bruce knew it had been the right choice.

"I'm going to try very hard to make sure that doesn't happen, Jason," said Zatanna, "I promise,"

"Yeah," murmured Jason, "Sure,"

Bruce squeezed Jason's shoulder in encouragement but inside, his own heart felt like it was tearing itself apart.

xxx

"You didn't all have to come you know," said Jason

The family had taken no time in rallying together. Duke had come back from his trip, Stephanie from her dorm, Cass and Tim had Zeta'd from Hong kong and the Titans tower respectively. Barbara was also tuned into the cave though she hadn't physically made it there yet.

"Nonsense," said Cass, flicking his forehead

"'Course we came, stupid," said Stephanie, "How are you feeling?"

"Tired," said Jason, "Guess this thing really is sucking it out me huh?"

"I could usually make so many jokes with that," muttered Stephnie

Tim hit her shoulder and snorted, "You're horrible,"

Jason chuckled though, glad that they were trying to make her feel better. It was one of the good things about working with the bats again, he got to be close to the family. Except for Dick, they weren't really his siblings, not yet, but he could say that they were at least his friends and had his back. Even the youngest brat.

"Did Zatanna tell you about her progress?" Barbara asked through the comms.

"Not yet. She took over the library and- oh wait, she's here. I'll let you listen to what she ways," said Dick

"Did you find anything?" asked Jason

"Not specifically for this," said Zatanna, "But there is a spell to summon spells. I'm familiar with those but this one can actually summon it across realities,"

"So, if someone from another reality figured this out, we'd be able to use the knowledge," said Tim

"Yes,"

"Reaching across realities is dangerous though," said Damian, "Are we sure we won't be putting Jason and ourselves in more danger,"

"I am certain that I can make it work," said Zatanna

Duke nodded, "I'll go get Bruce then,"

xxx

Zatanna pulled out the chalk, drew some symbols that Bruce wasn't even going to try to understand and sat down to chant a summoning spell. From what he knew, it wasn't something she did a lot but he trusted her confidence in her own abilities. If she was sure she could do it, he believed her.

Zatanna started her chant and beside him, Alfred squeezed Bruce's hand.

Bruce smiled thankfully and squeezed back. Eventually, the symbols began to glow, the cave lit for a second and then there was a burst of smoke.

Bruce had expected many things, but what he saw there was not one of them.

A fully grown man. There was a fully grown man sitting in the middle of Zatanna's drawn symbols.

After a closer look, it became increasingly obvious who it was. The man was wearing a leather jacket, had familiar blue-green eyes but most telling of all was the coif of start white hair standing amongst the rest of the salt and pepper

"Jason," he murmured

The other Jason took a measured look around the room and then turned gaze to Zatanna.

"So, why am I here?" he asked, "It's not everyday somebody pulls you a few hundred realities over,"

"I-I'm not sure," said Zatanna, "I was looking for a spell,"

"And you got me instead," said the other Jason, "What do you need help with?"

Zatanna gestures to their Jason who lifted his shirt for the man.

"What the _Fuck_?" the other Jason nearly shouted and then instantly turned to Alfred, "I am so sorry but it needed to be said,"

Alfred smiled, "Accepted, Sir,"

"So Jason, and to keep the confusion to a minimum, please call me Jace, May I?" said Jace, gesturing to the black hole on Jason's stomach.

Jason nodded, allowing Jace to touch his stomach. However, as soon as Jace touched his skin, he shook his head and pulled away.

"This isn't going to work," he muttered, "We need three?"

Before anyone could ask what he meant, Jace turned to Zatanna.

"I'm assuming that not everyone here is inherently magical," he said

"No, just a select few of us,"

"Well then, you people are about to have a couple more guests,"

xxx

The symbols, or runes as Jace called them, were activated again and out stepped another Jason Todd. This one looked about the same age as their Jason and a little more worked up about the whole situation.

"You pulled me from a fight!" he shouted at Jace, "I just left Tim alone with a group of thugs hell-bent on killing him!"

"I'm sorry," said Jace, "But you're here now, so please,"

The younger Jason shook his head and glared but stomped over to their Jason anyway, "You can call me Keeper. It's what we are back at our reality,"

"Keeper," murmured their Jason, "Got it,"

"Familiarize yourself with the force of it," said Jace, "I'm calling another one,"

This time the person who stepped out was a young teenager, though the white in his hair showed he had also been brought back to life. His reaction, Brue found, was probably the most normal.

He took a few moments to stare at their Jason, now shirtless.

"You're the guardian, right?" asked Jace

"Um- yes," he said, "That's what you can call me but uh-"

"How old are you?"

"Sixteen,"

"Right," said Jace, "In months how long has it been since you died? Since you were put in the pit?"

"Um, twenty-six and fourteen, uh- is he alright?"

"No, and since you were stable?"

This seemed to break Guardian Jason out of whatever reverie he was in.

"Eight months, it's been eight months," he said, "Now tell me why I'm here?"

"Soul sucking curse," said Jason, "We're going to assess,"

"Not perform?" said Keeper Jason

"You feel confident enough for that, Kid?" asked Jace

Both the Guardian and Keeper Jasons looked at each other and shrugged.

"We'll call them once we know what's going on," said Jace, "Let's get started,"

Bruce had absolutely no idea what they were talking about. And the part of him that made contingency plans for contingency plans, the part that liked to be in control, was screaming for him to ask. But another part was glad that at least someone knew how to help his boy, even if it made him very uncomfortable.

"Alright Guardian, you familiarize yourself too," said Jace, "Then we can begin to analyze it more,"

The youngest Jason nodded and then turned to Jason, "May I?"

Jason nodded, allowing him to touch the area around the whole. The Guardian touched his stomach but his reaction was much different from the one that the other two Jasons had had.

His hands glowed over their Jason's skin for a few seconds and then he backed away, face twisted in pain and clutching his stomach as he doubled over.

Jace moved to support him but he held his hand up, "I'm fine. I wasn't expecting that. It seems less magic and more demonic,"

"Um- if it helps," said their Jason, "We've seen possessed people before, and he definitely seemed a bit possessed,"

"Ah," said Guardian Jason, "In that case, we need a demon hunter. Best case scenario, somebody called a demon for a one-time thing and fucked up, worst-case scenario- well- they're too many to count. We need to find that thing before someone else gets this. How long has it been, in minutes?"

"Around five hours and thirty-seven minutes," said Bruce

"Moments like these I'm glad that the Bruces of every reality are control freaks,"

The Jasons, even theirs, shared a small conspiratorial smile, but Bruce couldn't bring himself to care. It wasn't as if they were wrong really.

"So you got one in mind?" Keeper Jason asked Jace, "Unless there's one that you guys can call right now,"

Zatanna shook her head, "Not so quickly,"

"Right," said Jace, "I got one. He's gonna come but just be warned, he likes to make an entrance. Takes after his darling father,"

Bruce was just about to ask what he meant when the lights flickered and the cave was plunged into darkness.

xxx

The cave only stayed dark for a few moments, but it was enough for Damian to reach for his weapons. From the rustling of fabric around the room, the rest of his family were doing the same.

When the lights started flickering back, they all heard the newcomer before they saw him.

"I hear from you for the first time in over six months and you drag me and my girls into another reality. Now that's just rude, Jason,"

The room cleared a bit more and Damian could see a man walking toward Jace, three girls in their teens and younger right behind him.

Jace opened his arms and grinned, "Demon brat,"

Demon brat.

 _Oh_.

The other, older him dramatically fell into Jace's arms and laughed when his older brother lifted him clean off the floor.

It reminded Damian of the times Todd carried him around too, though Damian always threatened him in return.

Once the other Damian was back on the ground, he turned towards the girls and gestured for them to great Jace. The girls ran forward with cries of "uncle Jay' and "Jayjay' filling the air. Once that was done, Damian turned his eyes to Jason and went completely still. He then turned toward the youngest girl, seemingly around ten years old.

"Habibi, close your ears for me,"

The little girl brought her hands up to her ears, a soft glow emitting from them.

Damian then turned Alfred with his hand raised a little.

"Pardon my language Pennyworth, but what the ever-loving _fuck_ is _that_?!" he said, gesturing his hand toward Jason's body

"Yeah, that was my reaction too," murmured Jace

"Can I take my hands away now?" said the littlest girl

Damian smiled and nodded. Then he turned back to their Jason.

"Tell me everything you remember about the caster and their mannerism,"

Wide-eyed, Jason started explaining what the man had looked like, his wording and hand gestures. Knowing what his brother would be saying, Damian took that time to observe the other Damian. He was just an inch or so away from his father's height and had his black hair and facial features. Though his lieth body seemed to be like Talia's. He was also wearing an all-black armour with gold ringlets and the League insignia, also in gold.

The girls were also dressed similarly and bore a striking resemblance to the Al-Ghul family. Damian wondered in these were other him's daughters or nieces or maybe even siblings if the Pit had been in use.

It was odd. Damian never imagined himself as a tall man, out of his child's body. It felt like something forbidden, to think of a future for himself that wasn't an abstract idea, something between batman and the league.

But now, watching the man, Damian could almost see himself standing tall and confident, out of both the comforting and suffocating shadows around him.

He thought he might like that.

xxx

"Weird isn't it?" murmured Dick

Bruce had to agree. The man introducing himself to Jason looked exactly like what Bruce imagined his Damian would be one day, confident, comfortable in his own skin and happy with a twinkle on his eye.

And the girls, the girls brought on a whole other wave of hope.

"Jason, these are my daughters, Tahara and Zara Al-Ghul-Wayne, and the youngest is their cousin Zinnia Al-Ghul. They will slow down the process of the curse until we can figure out some solution,"

"Okay," said Jason

"I will take a small, um...sample, of the curse and then I will track them down and hopefully get rid of the demonic force,"

"Sample?" asked Jason

"It'll just be a pinch," said the other Damian, stretching out his hand, "May I?"

"Yeah, sure," said Jason, "Go ahead,"

Damian tapped Jason's stomach, making him slightly flinch. The man's hand glowed black which then travelled up his arms in thick veins until his eyes were glowing an eerie black colour. If Bruce's family were any less than what they were, someone probably would have screamed. Instead, the biggest reaction was Duke's curious tilt.

Once Damian was done, he took his hand away and turned towards Jace. His brother cupped his face gently, looking him in his dark glowing eyes.

"Be careful, alright?"

The other Damian gave a huge grin and nodded, disappearing into a poof of black smoke.

Jace then turned towards his nieces and gestured towards their Jason.

"Alright girls. Let's get started,"

xxx

Jason smiled nervously as three girls took their seats around him.

"They'll start first," said Jace, "Once they've made their connection, we'll start analyzing the spell,"

"Okay," said Jason

The girls held their hands over him, muttering a few things as they cast whatever they had to. Not liking the silence, Jason cast his glance to where most of his family had moved, up over to the railing. They were too far away though, so he just felt awkward. Bruce and Dick were still standing close by but there was no way he was making eye contact with either one of them.

So he turned his eyes back towards the girls.

"So, can you guys talk," he asked, "Or is this one of the silent types of deals,"

The middle girl grinned, "We can talk if you want. By the way, you can start now Uncle Jay,"

"Thank you, Zara," said Jace, "Let's start gentlemen,"

The other Jason's started to gently prod around the black hole, their hands occasionally glowing and then picking up a pen and notebook to write notes in. The whole process was pretty odd so Jason turned his attention back to the girl.s

"Som how old are you guys?"

"Well," said Zara, "I'm twelve, Tahara's seventeen and little Zinnia is ten years old,"

"Cool," returned Jason, "I'm twenty,"

Little Zinnia smiled, "You're very pretty,"

Jason let out a small laugh.

"Why thank you," said Jason, "You're very pretty too,"

"I mean," continued Zinnia, "Uncle Jay was probably very pretty too once upon a time but by the time I came along he wasn't very pretty anymore,"

The last part was said in a mock whisper and Jason had to try hard not to laugh.

"Though, maybe Tahara remembers him being pretty," said Zara, "Do you, Ta?"

"Nope," said Tahara, winking at him as she played along with the younger girls' game.

"You know I can hear you, brats," said Jace

Zara grinned and leaned in, "We're not supposed to say it out loud, especially around Uncle Jay,"

"Yes," said Zinnia, "It hurts his fragile feelings, that's what grandpa B says,"

"Uncle Dickie says it too," said Tahara

"I still hear you," said Jace, though Jason could detect the amusement in his voice, "God, you guys are really Damian's girls,"

Zara leaned in again and whispered, "See what we mean,"

All the girls let out little giggles at that and Jason couldn't help but join them.

They spent the next hour or so like that, Jason ignoring his family and other versions of him as the girls told him little stories about their life. Though, Jason noticed that they kept it pretty vague. They would mention a cousin but no names and talk about a wedding but not who's it had been. Probably didn't want to give him a crisis or any reason to freak out in the future. Even if their future wasn't his if their past was similar their future could be too.

"We're done," said Jace

"So now what?" asked Jason

"Now we wait for the performers," said Jace, "Girls why don't you move back a little,"

The girls nodded and got up, moving to the furthest wall from him, sitting around one of the desks there.

Jason turned his attention back towards Jace, "So waiting for what?"

"The three of us are not strong enough to do this-"

"Well, he is," said Guardian Jason, "We're not,"

"Right," said Jace, "And since it's better to do a spell with 'three of the same', we're going to wait for-"

"Bruce Wayne's of your realities," Jason finished for him

"Yup," said Jace, "They should be here right about-"

Before he could finish his sentence, the lights in the cave flickered again.

Jace snorted, "Dramatic timing as always,"

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed! Comments and Kudos are appreciated!


End file.
